Contemplating
by Fighter1357
Summary: Someone contemplates who the Ghostboy could have been before he died. And soon after that, she thinks about where they stand now.
1. Chapter 1: Contemplating

**First Danny Phantom fic. 'Nuff said. **

**Thanks. Hope you like. **

**AU: Valerie never was a ghost hunter. Done. **

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She couldn't help but wonder who the ghost boy was… or had been, anyway. It was true though, a few ghosts were actually the "aftermath" of human emotion, that was caught up in an ectoplasmic swirl. They became a ghost, never fading and never ending. It was odd, really, to think about it. Who had he been? What time frame? Who was he?

Did he remember his former life? It must be odd, if he could, to think about who you were before you died. To think about everything before it all happened. How had he died?

She shivered involuntarily. The thought of thinking of how was ghost had been human and how they had died… was… odd. Slightly dissatisfying. Valerie sighed, shaking her head and moving the paper she was sketching on under her math work as the teacher passed by. Val glanced up and to the side, the seat next to her unoccupied, she shook her at it.

Danny never seemed to be at school. Half the time he was in the bathroom, really. Jumping as the bell disrupted her thoughts, Valerie sighed and quickly stuffed everything into her binder, jumping up she rushed out of the room, the thoughts of Phantom swirling in her head. She shook her head as she weaved through the crowds of the other high school students. It was like cow being herded toward the ranch, except they were all blind and retarded and didn't know where to go.

She slipped by Byron, her locker neighbor, and put in the combination. She hoped he wouldn't notice her but, eh, no such luck.

"Hey, Valerie, did you see the new movie that came out! It was awesome!" Byron asked, slamming his locker shut and leaning against it with a slick grin on his face. She winced from the sound and closed her eyes, the locker door concealing her face. Byron Parker, the complete comic nerd. In actuality, he was pretty easy going and cool, but he tried for girls way out of his league and he needed a good fishslap to the face. She mentally smiled at the thought of slapping him with a fish.

Valerie sighed and replied, "Which one? Three new ones came out. Do enlighten me Byron."

Byron chuckled and grinned, swiping his long shaggy hair out of his eyes. Val sighed, once more, and stuck her math book in her locker, slipping her History book in her bag and closing the door. She turned toward the boy next to her, a truly bored look in her brown eyes.

"The one about the Zombies! And the Christmas party! It had Ben Stiller! Come one, it's the coolest one out there! You have to have seen it!" Byron exclaimed, straightening as his arms rose in the air and proclaimed his speech with exaggerated gestures. Valerie sighed and shook her head, his enthusiasm much to much for her at 10:07 in the morning.

"No, I haven't. But, er, look. I have to get to class… so, I'll see you later, alright? Cool," Valerie retorted, slipping away before he could hastily reply with a cheesy pick up line. She wove, once more, through the heap of students. Her eyes were glazed over as they returned to her previous thoughts.

_Who had he been?_

She frowned as she thought about this. It really bothered her. For some reason, the thought of learning of his former life seemed to fascinate the girl. It was like… learning something that no one else new. Like, the secret of the universe or whatever. Something important like that. Either way, it was a fantasy.

Valerie suddenly brightened, her eyes flickering to the classroom she should have gone into. Pivoting, she rushed in, and not a moment to soon too; the bell's shrill ring cut through the air. She slid into a seat in the back, just as her teacher, Mrs. Murphy, turned around. Valerie sighed deeply in relief and opened her text-book to the lesson they were learning that day. Roman Empire. One of the best and the greatest. Personally, she thought the Greeks were cooler, they hadn't wiped out an entire nation, but that was the lesson after this. It should have been switched, as the Greek time was far before the Roman, but the Roman lesson was far_ bigger_.

"Hello class, today we will be starting on the Roman Empire. Now, as you all know, this is a seven week course, in which you will partner up for most of it. If you will pick your partner now, we will begin in a few minutes."

Valerie didn't even look up as she heard the seat next to her move closer.

"What are you thinking about?" A voice asked, causing Val to look up and smirk.

"I'm contemplating life and the creation of the universe, you?"

The person shrugged, looking down at the textbook with a scrunched up nose. Starr then began talking about how this was just a bunch of nonsense and it was stupid to learn about a bunch of people who were already dead. Like the Caesar salad guy or something.

As the blonde, oblivious girl did this, Val turned back toward her binder and slipped out the sketches. Once more beginning to draw, her thoughts wandered toward Phantom. Well, Danny Phantom. Had that been his name? Had his name been Danny or Daniel? Maybe it was something completely different and his real name was something else and that was just the name of a friend he had known. How old was he, really? He looked fourteen or fifteen, but who knows? He could have been from the 1900s. She smiled, dreaming of a boy: tall, dark and handsome. Where id he live? Why did he help? Had his father been a cop when he was alive? Did he have siblings? Did he look different? He had white hair. Was that what it really had look like, or did it change when he became a ghost.

Val sighed when the teacher began to speak and Starr nudged her. She may never find out. All she was doing was contemplating.

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**Review? It's my first DP fanfic... I have 15 others... lol. **

**At the moment, this is a one-shot but I will continue it later. **


	2. Chapter 2: Impluse

**Wow, thanks for the reviews guys! They were really encouraging! **

**As for going into the Roman stuff, don't mind it. It was somewhat of an improv thing. Also, looks like this might be ValeriexDanny/Phantom. Hope you don't mind and hope you sort of, somewhat ship that. **

**:) **

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"Valerie, please tell me what a Roman _Cohort _is."

Mrs. Murphy's voice cut through Valerie Grey's thoughts and she sat upright, her brown eyes flying toward the teacher with inhuman speed. Mrs. Murphy stood there with a frown on her face, staring the dark skinned girl down. Valerie gave a reassuring smile and glanced down, quickly, at her book.

"A unit in the Roman Army: It was like a military unit which was equal to one-tenth of a Legion; it consisted of 300 to 600 men. I think there were five or so _Cohorts. _One is the best and Five being the worst. I believe _Cohort_ means _enclosure _in Latin," Valerie replied, a smirk playing at her lips as she stared straight back at the teacher, a sort of determination in her eyes. Mrs. Murphy nodded, a smile playing at her lips as well, and turned back to the class, starting to explain what a Legion was.

Honestly, Valerie had simply brushed up on the means of Roman Military and how they worked (brutal little fellows they were). Of course, this was why she preferred the Greeks. So much simpler. Of course, they were weaker… at least their weapons were. Being made of Bronze they wouldn't have stood a chance against a Roman steel sword. Not even a Spartan. She chuckled, thinking of how much of a nerd she was.

Lifting her head slightly, her eyes scanned the room. Dash was sitting in his chair, feet up on the desk, and staring at Paulina with glazed eyes. The Latina girl herself was checking her makeup, her legs crossed and her body faced in basically the complete opposite direction. Sam Manson was drawing a few desks down, her short hair brushing into her face. Tucker was playing with something under the desk and-

"Mr. Foley, please stop texting in class, no one looks down at the crotch and smiles, thank you."

Tucker jumped, quickly stuffing the phone in his pocket with a nervous smile toward the teacher. Sam snorted and shook her head, returning toward her sketches and drawings. Danny, who was actually in class that day, smirked at Tucker and playfully punched his arm, the boy returned with a glare.

Valerie snickered. Sure, she wished she had friends like that. Good friends, who didn't care what the heck you did. Like Dr. Seuss once said, "Those who mind, don't matter and those who matter, don't mind." Still, as she watched Danny and Tucker converse about God knows what, she felt a bit of jealousy; especially toward Sam. She was friends with Danny and Tucker. Good friends too. Danny was probably one of the sweetest kids there was. And he was kind of cute too…Valerie froze at this thought. Did she seriously just say Danny Fenton was cute? EW, gross!

She shook her head, turning back to her history book. No… she liked… well, she didn't like Fenton, not at all. He was okay, nice and stuff… but defiantly not for her. He was like… Peter Parker… and she was that other girl, or something.

She shook her head, okay; forget the analogies for a moment. If anything, she liked Phantom. Maybe a little. But, something was wrong with that because he was dead. To put it bluntly at least. Still, it would've been awesome had he been alive. She marveled at the thought, they could've been together… well, if he lived in this time frame. She shivered at this; the thought of him having to die for her to at least know of him bothered her.

"Valerie, class is done. You may now exit this room."

Val looked up to see Fenton standing in front of her. He was smirking, his books held tightly in his arms. She sighed and glared at him.

"No duh Fenton, I didn't know, thanks."

"Obviously you didn't, because you were still sitting here staring off into space," her replied back cockily. Valerie shook her head and snatched up her stuff, stomping away furiously. Yeah, she had a… bit of a temper, but it seemed Fenton was the only one who could really get under her skin.

Exiting the classroom, she rushed to her locker before Byron could get there and stuffed everything in her backpack, including her volleyball clothes and rushed to the front doors. Suddenly, she was bombarded with screaming people, all rushing back in the opposite direction. Valerie was thrown to the side, being slammed against the lockers. She groaned, sliding to the floor with a muted thud. "What's going on?" she yelled out, just as someone else screamed:

"GHOST!"

Valerie's breath hitched and she quickly stood up. If there was a ghost there, that meant that Phantom would probably be there was well. The halls were practically cleared and she rushed in the direction of the where the ghost attack most likely was. The lights had an eerie purplish glow to them and the lockers were a neonish green color. She had just about turned the corner when a ghost went flying past her. She squealed and ducked out of the way, slamming herself against the lockers once more, breathing hard. She watched as the ghost, fortunately not Phantom, stood up shakily.

"My boxes will avenge me! Go, disperse and attack!" the blue ghost yelled, throwing his hands in the air. Tons of cardboard boxes flew by and Valerie quickly ducked. She heard another thud and then a green blast hit the blue ghost in the chest, sending him flying back into the lockers. Phantom flew forward, his hands glowing green. He looked slightly irritated, like any normal teenager, as he crossed his arms.

"What is this?" he asked the blue ghost, "the third time this week that we've fought. It's only Tuesday! Give me a break Boxie."

Valerie smiled slightly at his banter and watched as he took out a… thermos (?) and sucked (Oh, okay) the blue ghost into it. The ghost screamed, yelling something about boxes. With one final "BEWARE!" he was gone. Phantom sighed and landed on the ground with a sigh. Valerie watched as he stared at the damage; it wasn't too bad, mostly boxes just strewn on the ground, but he had still managed to dent a locker.

"Phantom!" she yelled, jumping forward with an exaggerated cry.

The ghost jumped up and spun around, a green ectoplasmic blast ready in his hand. Valerie shrunk back a bit but then he, thankfully, relaxed.

"Uh, hi," he said, stiffening up and glancing down at her. Valerie almost cursed; she hadn't thought this through. Of course, she had been impulsive (like always) and simply jumped out there (literally).

"Hey, I just wanted to say… uh, thanks. You know, for taking down that ghost," she stuttered, unsure of what else to say.

He shrugged, shaking the thermos idly. "You're welcome, I guess."

She nodded and watched as he turned intangible and flew away. Sighing deeply, she continued toward the front door of the school. A deep fleeing stirred in her stomach when she talked to him and she face palmed.

She was really too impulsive.

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**Review. Thanks. **


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting

**Thanks for the reviews! **

**Deadpool: Yeah, I used the fish slap in a story. -_- Don't act so smug. ;) **

**Chapter 3: **

Valerie waited by the Nasty Burger. The cold wind bit at her skin and she rubbed her arms, shivering slightly in the wind. Gosh, it was spring! Why was it so cold? Spring was supposed to be warm! She scowled. Why in the world was she even waiting for Fenton outside? She could be inside, but, alas, she had to see him arrive and she just knew that if she went inside, she would end up talking to Kwan… who could be very intelligent sometimes.

She shivered and glanced up at the sky; it was already getting dark, maybe she should go inside. Yeah, that seemed nice. Though, it wasn't like Amity park was a bad place at night, or in general, but some ghosts really didn't care about people.

"Val? Have you been out here the entire night?"

Valerie spun around to see Fenton behind her. He was near the door and a slightly concerned look had taken to his face. Val scowled. However, a smile grazed his lips, like it was all some private joke.

"What?" she snapped, watching as he opened the door for her and moved to the side. She nodded a thanks, though still scowling, and stalked inside, stamping her boots on the laminate floor.

"Nothing, I've been here the entire night too… though, I was inside," he waved his hand dismissively,. "Beside the point, you said you wanted to ask me something?"

Valerie nodded, taking a seat across from him in the booth. He took a sip of the drink he already had, his floppy black hair brushing against his forehead, which was unnaturally pale. Fenton was like that, pale and small, his dark ebony hair and icy eyes standing out. Val vaguely wondered if he was sick somehow; he didn't… act like it, but he certainly looked it.

"Yeah… uh, since your parents' are Ghost, erm, Hunters and all, do you anything about the Ghost Boy?" she asked, staring down at the table, her face going red from the blood rushing to her cheeks. She felt hot inside.

Danny looked startled, to say the least, and leaned back a bit. Suddenly, a hesitant yet skeptical look came on his face and he leaned forward, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Yeah, I know a bit. Why?"

Valerie should have at least expected the question. In turn, she did, though it was Fenton. He wasn't that bright, or so it seemed sometimes, because he always missed class. To say the least, Val didn't have an answer to that question at all. She blinked.

Fenton just sat there, waiting for her to answer. "Are you stalking him?" he asked, leaning back with a little awkward look on his face. Valerie jumped in surprise and frowned.

"Heck no! Oh, no! Fenton!" she smacked him on the arm and he just laughed. For some reason, her hitting him seemed to hurt her more than it did him. He laughed and then she laughed and then they were both laughing. People began to look, but, honestly, did it matter? No. So they just laughed and eventually settled down, still snickering a bit.

"Okay, so, no stalking. Still, what do you need to know?" Danny asked, suddenly getting serious. Valerie frowned. What did she want to know?

"I just want to met up with him," she blurted out, "so… yeah…, I guess."

Danny shrugged. "Maybe, I can see what I can do. Not like I know him personally. Though, my parents would blast him from the house like there's no tomorrow. Maybe you can meet him by the park, he hangs around there a lot," Danny said, staring off toward the ceiling. Valerie waited a few seconds and then moved forward, snapping her fingers in his face. He jumped and then promptly blushed, moving back into the seat a little.

"What?"

"Alright, I'll take it into consideration. And that, my dear friend, was for making me stand in the cold!"

"Hey! In my defense, I didn't know you were out there!"

"Whatever…" Valerie replied, grinning and rolling her eyes.

"Danny! Oh… uh, hey Valerie?" Both Danny and Valerie turned to see Sam and Tucker. They both looked surprised to see Valerie there, sitting across from Danny.

"Well," Valerie sighed, "I gotta get going. Bye Danny."

She walked off and could vaguely hear Sam asking Danny, "Why was _she _here?"

Valerie frowned and then shrugged. Why did it matter?

0o0o0o0

"And that's why that is a very common misconception," their teacher said, closing the book with a smile.

Valerie sighed and looked at the clock. Five more minutes till dismissal and then she would go home and do her homework and then go to the park. She glanced at Fenton, who, sensing someone must've been looking up at him, looked up and over at her. She blushed but then smiled when he winked and gave her a thumbs up. Rolling her eyes, she looked back down at her paper, which was filled with notes, and then leaned back in the chair. Smoothing out the creases in her jeans, she sighed, and then leaned forward, propping herself up by her elbows. She scowled as the teacher droned on about God knows what and simply waited for the time to pass. It seemed like the teacher's mouth was going a hundred miles per hour and, gosh, what subject was this?

She rubbed her temples, closing her eyes and tucking her head, and groaned. And then… _BRIIING! _

Everyone jumped at the sound; school was out! Valerie jumped up, grabbing her books and rushing from the room. She heard a rush of feet behind her but ignored it as she opened her locker and dumped everything in her backpack. Being on the first ones out of the school, she walked calmly on the sidewalk, cars and people rushing past her.

It felt nice, just now… she had to go and do homework… and then go to the park.

We'll see how it goes from there.


	4. Chapter 4: Phantom

**Chapter 4: **

Valerie stood at the park, sitting on a bench with a sandwich.

She chewed slowly, searching the sky for Phantom. It seemed to her that he always appeared during the twilight hours. Maybe he liked the stars; yeah, she figured, he liked the stars… She did too. Giggling at this, she took a bite from her sandwich and looked up toward the sky. It was streaked red and gold, the clouds a sort of reddish grey, the sun rays falling down toward the ground. She watched as the light faded into the dark, smiling as a warm wind blew across her face. The stars began to peek out of the dark, slightly faded by the lasting sun.

"You look lonely," a voice commented behind her.

She turned around in the bench slightly to see Phantom floating behind her. His aura stood out against the shadows of the city and a smile grazed his lips. She smiled.

"Slightly. Care to join me?" she asked, smirking as he looked to be contemplating it.

"Why, I'd love to!" he exclaimed, sitting down next to her. She laughed and then turned back toward the sky. The sun was gone now and the stars were shining brightly over the park.

"So, were you lonely?"

"A bit. But now I have company. You seem pretty open," she commented, glancing over at him. He shrugged, the neon, unnatural, green eyes looking up at the sky. His silver grayish brushed his forehead and he leaned forward.

"Slightly, but its fine. I'm a little open toward friends."

"You have friends?"

He looked over at her, looking surprised, "Uh… yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"You're dead," she replied back bluntly.

He looked away, an awkward silence falling over them, "Oh. Okay." Obviously, he hadn't expected that answer, because he sat there stoically for such a long time, one, had they not been looking at his face and into is eyes, would have thought he was asleep. Valerie gulped slightly and looked away, blushing as she thought herself an idiot for saying such a thing.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked her suddenly, turning and facing her. '"Orange," she replied back immediately. "Yours?"

"I like blue… but navy blue, not sky blue," he said, smiling and looking up at the stars. She nodded in response and grinned.

"Alright, my turn… hmmm… favorite animal?"

"Wolf. You?"

"I like a bird, because they're so free you know?"

"I know what you mean. I can fly… I love that feeling," his voice faded off a bit at the end and she looked over at him, surprised. She'd heard from the Fenton's that ghosts didn't have feelings. Of course, she figured that they did, but it surprised her to hear that from Phantom. She knew that he, obviously, had feelings of some sort in order for him to want to protect Amity Park.

"Do you… want to feel that too?" he asked skeptically, turning to face her. She looked back, a little surprised.

"I… sure," she said, grabbing his outstretched hand with a small smile. Was this really happening? She'd have to thank Fenton for this later…

Phantom floated upward a bit, causing her to reach further up. It seemed that she was intent on staying on the bench, yet also with going in the air, for she leaned out further, her arm stretching outward. Phantom laughed and tugged a bit, pulling her toward him. She yelped as she was tugged into the air. Expecting to fall, her eyes snapped shut and she shivered. Phantom laughed and moved up toward the sky faster. Valerie didn't want to look, but with the feeling of the wind on her face, blowing through her hair, she had to see how high they were.

Slowly opening her eyes, she stared down at the ground. Everything was slightly smaller and it was a bit colder, but Phantoms hand was surprisingly warm. She felt weightless up there, like there was no boundary to where she could go. Valerie smiled at the thought and looked up toward Phantom, who was grinning down at her.

"Nice, isn't it?"

"The view is amazing," she commented. Phantom laughed, a light and airy laugh, and brought her up a little closer to him. They both laughed and flew over Amity Park, watching as people looked up. Phantom turned them invisible everytime this happened and flew a bit faster. Everytime they went invisible, a tingling sensation engulfed her stomach and she giggled everytime it happened. Phantom would chuckle at this and eventually they just flew.

"Ready to go down?" he asked, she laughed.

"Nope."

"Haha. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it's getting late." He flew down back toward the park, circulating it and then setting her down.

"I hope to do this again some time. You're that girl… the one that jumped out. I just realized that," he laughed, "I feel stupid now."

Valerie smiled and shook her head. "Bye Phantom."

And she walked off, not knowing that he was behind her, in a way, taking her home.

0o0o0o0o

"Fenton! Hey, thanks for the park thingy!" Valerie said, sliding into the seat next to him. Danny looked over and nodded, taking a bit out of the hamburger, or, what the school called a hamburger. Sam and Tucker both glanced at Danny, their eyes demanding an explanation.

"Er, no problem Val. How'd it go?"

"Ummmm… none of your business. I'll fish slap you," she replied cheerfully. He held is hands up in defense, "Please! Spare me!"

They both laughed and Valerie stood up, sending a glare toward Sam as she said this. "I'll you later Danny, maybe we can meet up at the Nasty Burger… _again."_

Danny nodded in response, looking a little bit uncomfortable as he did so. Sam scowled and ripped off a piece of salad from her plate. Tucker just looked really uncomfortable, his face going red from the awkward that Valerie just caused. "Well," she sighed, "see you guys in class." And with that she walked away from the table, a smirk placed firmly on her face.

**Sorry about the story saying it was completed. It wasn't, I think I thought it was another story I was finishing yesterday. Next chapter is the last, and should be up today! So, Yay for that right? Lol. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: Looking Up

**Does anybody else wish they could fly? I can only imagine…**

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**Chapter five:**

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"Danny… you can't be serious? You actually took her and flew with her? Are you insane?" Sam yelled, pacing in front of both Danny and Tucker, who were sitting on the couch in her basement. Tucker looked bored and Danny was scowling, arms crossed as he leaned back into the big bulky, yet nice and expensive, couch.

He rolled his eyes and sat up. "It's fine Sam. She wouldn't have been able to tell that it was me. No connections remember?"

She sighed and rubbed her temples, brushing a few strands of her black hair from her face. They glared at each other for a few moments and then Sam sighed, more of exasperation than anything. "Fine, just, be careful alright?"

He nodded and stood up. "I'll be fine. 'Sides, what could go wrong?"

"Dude," Tucker grinned, standing up, "you just jinxed it."

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Valerie was an idiot.

She liked both Phantom and Fenton. She was leading Phantom on and yet she was basically going on a date with Fenton. Her head smacked against the desk in her room when she let it fall in desperation.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing it with her hand, "I am an idiot."

To say the least, she had to go with one or the other. It was quite stupid to lead the ghost with powers on, but she saw Fenton more. But Fenton, or Danny, couldn't take her flying, letting her feel that absolute free feeling. But, Danny did make her laugh and he did make her smile. She felt good when she was around him, like his happy mood just seemed to flood into everyone else around him. She laughed suddenly and stood up, realizing she needed to be at the Nasty Burger.

Danny had called her up, asking when she wanted to meet at the Nasty Burger. She smiled when he did so, realizing he wanted to spend time with her as well; another reason to be with him, he could spend time with her. Grabbing a sweater from the foot of her bed, she walked out of her room and past her dad.

"Val, where are you going?" her dad asked, looking up from the hockey game on the TV. Valerie smiled softly.

"Just meeting up at the Nasty Burger with Danny, why?"

"Just curious," he replied, voice fading as he directed his mind toward the TV. She rolled her eyes, but was smiling, and walked out of their apartment. She stomped down the stairs, her Walmart tennis shows clapping against the steel stairway. The noise echoed around the stairwell and she rolled her eyes. They really had to move.

Once exiting the apartment complex she stuffed her hands in her pockets and walked toward the Nasty Burger. It wasn't that cold anymore and it seemed that maybe she didn't need her sweater. She shrugged it off and threw it over her arm. Passing multiple houses and a _Michael's, _she made it to the park and the Nasty Burger, and it seemed very crowded. Groaning, she walked inside.

She spotted Danny sitting in a booth already, which was vacant besides him. She smiled and moved her way over. She really didn't have a problem with Tucker or Sam; really, she just knew they didn't like her. Nor did they, for some odd reason, trust her. She shrugged, not like it mattered to her. No… of course it didn't, why would she care?

"Hey, Danny!" she exclaimed, sliding into the seat across from him. He looked up from whatever he was doing and smiled.

"Hey! Want something to eat?"

"Sure," she replied, smiling as he ordered something for the both of them.

She crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward.

Things seemed to be looking up right now.

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**Yeah… short.**

**There might be a sequel where she finds out about Fenton/Phantom… so… look out just in case, alright?**


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